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The Tigers’ left-handed starting pitcher was present Sunday afternoon at Joker Marchant Stadium, working out on the back fields as the team’s pitchers continue to trickle in ahead of Thursday’s pitchers and catchers reporting date.

“Really exciting times,” Norris said. “As soon as I hit the road, I started getting excited about the upcoming season.”

He is clear of the thyroid cancer he was diagnosed with last season after a successful surgery to remove a malignant growth, and he has been in Lakeland since the end of January.

Parked next to the team’s minor league clubhouse was his road companion, a cream-colored 1978 Volkswagen van. Inside was an orange surfboard. Outside, he talked about the differences and similarities between entering camp this spring and last.

“I feel more confident,” he said. “Very confident with the work I put in this winter.”

Last season, Norris was in Dunedin with the Blue Jays. He didn’t have a spot penciled into the starting rotation and had yet to go through the up-and-down grind of a big-league season.

This season, the lefty is all but guaranteed a spot at the back end of the Tigers’ rotation, and he thinks some of the confidence he will carry into camp stems from his comfort level with the organization.

But his love for the game remains the same, and it’s evident in the way he has tackled his early spring throwing program. Early this week, Norris will throw his fourth bullpen session.

“Playing catch for the first time down here in the nice weather, first bullpen session, it’s great,” he said.

Norris, 22, posted a 3.75 ERA in 13 starts with the Tigers and Blue Jays last season. He was acquired at the trade deadline as the centerpiece of a deal for lefty ace David Price.

A striking difference between Norris last year and now is his facial stubble. Gone is the lengthy lumberjack beard he sported throughout last season. He shaved last week, which caused a number of his teammates to do a double-take.

“Now you can see how ugly your face is,” Justin Verlander joked earlier in the month.